Gotta get my butt in gear

4315 Views 36 Replies 14 Participants Last post by honesttjohn, Sep 7, 2018

honesttjohn

Discussion Starter · Aug 3, 2018 (Edited)

Had a big Polish Festival a couple weeks ago. Ended up selling 105 ready made items and got 29 custom orders for these made from 24" round panels. Menards was out of them so I started gluing 5/4 boards up to make my own. Twice as expensive as the ready made ones. Plus the time involved. Ordered 12 on line and was told 2-3 weeks for delivery. Emailed the Menards buyer (got his address from past complaints on their wood quality) and explained the situation and sent a copy of some of my past receipts (3 digits). He overnighted the original 12 I ordered and put 25 more on the weekly truck special for me. Some stores got shorted. Only concern I had was not being able to pick thru them -- but I wasn't going to complain. Not going to rock the boat. I can adjust.

Started cutting and had machine problems after about 8 of them. Got a new breakout board being overnighted from Probotix. It's either that or a broken wire someplace. I can't make people wait much longer for their plaques. They get anxious when they get them personalized.

The uncut stack is waiting to be carved.

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1 - 20 of 37 Posts

MoHawk

· #2 · Aug 3, 2018

That sounds like my kinda of luck! Hope the board corrects your problem.

Reactions: 2

difalkner

· #3 · Aug 3, 2018

See what being Contributor of the Month will get you??!! :wink:

You do good work, John.

David

Reactions: 5

Cherryville Chuck

· #4 · Aug 3, 2018

Did you have any idea that retirement was going to be this much fun?

Reactions: 5

MEBCWD

· #5 · Aug 3, 2018

Sorry to hear about the problem with your CNC. I know you had the problem with wood blanks and had that under control.

If the board doesn't work and you can't find a loose wire then you might have a grounding problem. Changes in humidity can wreak havoc with grounding sometimes.

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RainMan 2.0

· #6 · Aug 3, 2018

Sorry to hear this Mike , what a time to break down , This makes me more inclined to build my own electronics cabinet,as maybe I’ll have a better understanding trouble shooting wise .

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MT Stringer

· #7 · Aug 3, 2018

Good luck, John.

RainMan 2.0

· #8 · Aug 3, 2018

RainMan 2.0 said:
Sorry to hear this Mike , what a time to break down , This makes me more inclined to build my own electronics cabinet,as maybe I’ll have a better understanding trouble shooting wise .

Sorry John , I had a brain fart , calling you Mike for some reason lol .
In my defence ,I did work a night shift last night

honesttjohn

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 4, 2018

They sent me a circuit board for the controller. That wasn't it. Now they think it's the machine's computer. Got one coming. I think it's the spindle. That'll be the next step if the new computer doesn't work. Nice thing about Probotix - You can call and talk to a live person. They were on the phone with me most of the day and didn't try to hurry things. They want it fixed almost as bad as I do. I have to start contacting customers and let them know there's going to be a delay in their order. Hope to be up and running by Tuesday.

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Knothead47

· #10 · Aug 4, 2018

Sign in an office- Compared to me, Murphy was an optimist.
Machinery, power tools, etc. all go down at the most inopportune time! Let us know what caused the problem with the CNC. Don't have one but others might be interested for future reference.

honesttjohn

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 14, 2018

I think we got it up and running again....... finally. Was down about 10 days. Ended up being on the phone most of the time almost every one of those days. Got a new computer, controller, config files, stepper motor, wires, and a couple odds and ends. Still didn't work. Beltramidave got involved and sorted it all out and made it work. Can't make any nerd jokes for a while. Been cutting going on the second day now. Fingers are crossed it's good now. Was over 2 years with no problems while working it pretty steady. I emailed all the waiting orders explaining things and they've pretty much understood.

There's a lesson here for those wanting a cheap or China machine. There will be a time when you will need support and being able to call someone for help (in English) and get parts shipped overnite means a whole lot!!! Beltramidave and MEBCWD answered their phones each and every time, and 4d answered each email. Thanx Router Forum guys.

Let's hope we got it.

Don't think I deserve the Contributor title this month being pre-occupied with the machine.

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4DThinker

· #12 · Aug 14, 2018

Was there a specific thing that caused the trouble? I'd love to know the complete end of the drama. Was it several things or ultimately one thing that failed and led to the trouble?

4D

honesttjohn

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 14, 2018

4D -- I'll PM you in a little while. It's been a long story with no definite answer.

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MEBCWD

· #14 · Aug 15, 2018

honesttjohn said:
Don't think I deserve the Contributor title this month being pre-occupied with the machine.

Good thing is you still the rest of the month to show us all the work you'll be doing since the machine is back up and running. :grin:

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honesttjohn

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 15, 2018

About 15 24" Polish Eagles with different names on them.

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beltramidave

· #16 · Aug 15, 2018

4DThinker said:
Was there a specific thing that caused the trouble? I'd love to know the complete end of the drama. Was it several things or ultimately one thing that failed and led to the trouble?

4D

4D, John had multiple issues.

When I originally got involved, it was because of a Z limit switch error. After replacing the switch, he would still get random Z limit errors, he then replaced cable. I think the fix for this was using the new configurator and disabling the limits after homing is complete. I personally am not a fan of this, but it does what it is supposed to.

Then the random Z plunging started. Long story here that involved replacing Z motor and cable, PC, parallel cable and finally controller. Now Y & Z would home, but not X... Found that new controller had a damaged X stepper driver and a couple of ribbon cables. They attempted to swap A driver to X using the configurator setup, resulting in the X motor only turning one direction using A stepper driver. Fix was to replace damaged X driver with one from old controller and then reset the configurator to default so X is using X driver. Everything worked then, almost.

Tried A driver with known good motor and it still only drives one direction using both direction commands. Currently not an issue as A is not being used...

This was a tough one for sure. Glad I could help John get back up and running.

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honesttjohn

Discussion Starter · #17 · Aug 15, 2018

beltramidave said:
4D, John had multiple issues.

When I originally got involved, it was because of a Z limit switch error. After replacing the switch, he would still get random Z limit errors, he then replaced cable. I think the fix for this was using the new configurator and disabling the limits after homing is complete. I personally am not a fan of this, but it does what it is supposed to.

Then the random Z plunging started. Long story here that involved replacing Z motor and cable, PC, parallel cable and finally controller. Now Y & Z would home, but not X... Found that new controller had a damaged X stepper driver and a couple of ribbon cables. They attempted to swap A driver to X using the configurator setup, resulting in the X motor only turning one direction using A stepper driver. Fix was to replace damaged X driver with one from old controller and then reset the configurator to default so X is using X driver. Everything worked then, almost.

Tried A driver with known good motor and it still only drives one direction using both direction commands. Currently not an issue as A is not being used...

This was a tough one for sure. Glad I could help John get back up and running.

Not as glad as John is!!!!!!! Thanx again Dave.

Reactions: 1

honesttjohn

Discussion Starter · #18 · Aug 17, 2018

It's still cutting. Holding my breath yet.

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MEBCWD

· #19 · Aug 17, 2018

honesttjohn said:
It's still cutting. Holding my breath yet.

I like that one, I'm sure the customer will like it too.

Glad it is still cutting.

Reactions: 1

beltramidave

· #20 · Aug 17, 2018

honesttjohn said:
It's still cutting. Holding my breath yet.

Looking good, John! Post a finished picture.

What are you using for mask? Do you have much trouble with it tearing?

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